1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection system in which imaging light emitted from a projector is projected on a projection screen to produce thereon an image. More particularly, the present invention relates to a projection screen capable of sharply displaying an image, of improving brightness distribution and viewing angle, and of providing high image visibility, and to a projection system comprising such a projection screen.
2. Background Art
A conventional projection system is usually as follows: imaging light emitted from a projector is projected on a projection screen, and viewers observe the light reflected from the projection screen as an image.
Typical examples of projection screens for use in such conventional projection systems include white-colored paper or cloth materials, and plastic films coated with inks that scatter white light. Besides, high-quality projection screens that comprise scattering layers containing beads, pearlescent pigments, or the like, capable of controlling the scattering of imaging light, are now commercially available.
Since projectors have become smaller in size and moderate in price in recent years, demand for household projectors such as projectors for family theaters is growing, and an increasing number of families are now enjoying projection systems. Household projection systems are often placed in living rooms or the like, which are usually so designed that environmental light such as sunlight and light from lighting fixtures come in abundantly. Therefore, projection screens for use in household projection systems are expected to show good image display performance even under bright environmental light.
However, the above-described conventional projection screens cannot show good image display performance under bright environmental light because they reflect not only imaging light but also environmental light such as sunlight and light from lighting fixtures.
In such a conventional projection system, differences in the intensity of light (imaging light) projected on a projection screen from a projector cause light and shade to form an image. For example, in the case where a white image on a black background is projected, the projected-light-striking part of the projection screen becomes white and the other part becomes black; thus, differences in brightness between white and black cause light and shade to form the desired image. In this case, in order to attain excellent image display, it is necessary to make the contrast between the white- and black-indication parts greater by making the white-indication part lighter and the black-indication part darker.
However, since the above-described conventional projection screen reflects both imaging light and environmental light such as sunlight and light from lighting fixtures without distinction, both the white- and black-indication parts get lighter, and differences in brightness between white and black become small. For this reason, the conventional projection screen cannot satisfactorily provide good image display unless the influence of environmental light such as sunlight and light from lighting fixtures on the projection screen is suppressed by using a means for shading a room, or by placing the projection screen in a dark environment.
Under these circumstances, studies have been made on projection screens capable of showing good image display performance even under bright environmental light. There have so far been proposed projection screens using, for example, holograms or polarized-light-separating layers (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications No. 107660/1993 (Patent Document 1) and No. 540445/2002 (Patent Document 2)).
Of these conventional projection screens, those ones using holograms have the advantage that the white-indication part can be made lighter if their light scattering effect is properly controlled, so that they can show relatively good image display performance even under bright environment light. However, holograms have wavelength selectivity but no polarization selectivity, so that the projection screens using holograms can display images only with limited sharpness. Moreover, because of production problems, it is difficult to produce large-sized projection screens by making use of holograms.
On the other hand, on the above-described conventional projection screens using polarized-light-separating layers, it is possible to make the white-indication part lighter and the black-indication part darker. Therefore, these projection screens can sharply display images even under bright environmental light as compared with the projection screens using holograms.
Specifically, Patent Document 1 describes a projection screen for which a cholesteric liquid crystal that reflects red, green and blue light (right- or left-handed circularly polarized light) contained in imaging light is used in order to make the projection screen not reflect nearly half of the environmental light incident on the screen, by making use of the circularly-polarized-light-separating property of the cholesteric liquid crystal.
On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes a projection screen using, as a reflective polarization element, a multi-layered reflective polarizer or the like, having diffusing properties. This projection screen does not reflect part of the environmental light incident on it because of the polarized-light-separating property of the multi-layered reflective polarizer or the like, and diffuses the reflected light by interfacial reflection that occurs at an interface between materials having different refractive indices, constituting the multi-layered reflective polarizer, or by means of a diffusing element that is provided separately from the multi-layered reflective polarizer. Further, Patent Document 2 describes a projection screen using a cholesteric, reflective polarizer or the like as a reflective polarization element in combination with a diffusing element. This projection screen does not reflect part of the environmental light incident on it because of the polarized-light-separating property of the cholesteric, reflective polarizer or the like, and scatters the reflected light by means of the diffusing element that is provided separately from the cholesteric, reflective polarizer.
In the projection screens using polarized-light-separating layers, described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, however, the relationship between the angle at which light enters the projection screen and the angle at which the light is diffuse-reflected from the projection screen is of specular reflection. Therefore, the image projected on any of these projection screens appears uneven, depending on the position from where the image is observed. Specifically, since the light (imaging light) reflected from the projection screen contains light not returning to the observation point, the brightness distribution on the projection screen becomes non-uniform, and the image displayed on the projection screen appears dark (viewing angle gets narrow) depending on the point at which a viewer is observing the image, and thus becomes uneven. For this reason, in order to improve the visibility of the image projected on the projection screen, consideration must be given to the direction in which the reflected light (imaging light) emerges from the projection screen.